Adjustable putter



April 12, 1960 J. F. MAY 2,932,515

ADJUSTABLE PUTTER Filed July 25, 1957 Z! INVENTOR Mai/7V i7 my UnitedStates Patent ADJUSTABLE PUTTER John F. May, New Rochelle, N.Y.

Application July 23, 1957, Serial No. 673,712

1 Claim. (Cl. 273-80.1)

This invention relates to golf equipment and more particularly to acompletely adjustable putter.

Since putting is the most unorthodox and personal stroke in golf, everygolfer has his own personal preference as to weight, point of attachmentof the shaft to the head, and angle of the shaft relative to the headfor the particular putter that he finds most desirable. Accordingly, anobject of the present invention is to provide an adjustable putter thatmay be easily adjusted for use for either a right or a left handedplayer and may also be quickly and easily adjusted to suit the taste orfancy of any layer.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a putter of theabove type in which the weight of the head may also be adjusted asdesired and the point of attachment of the shaft and the angle betweenthe shaft and head may be shifted at any time.

All of the foregoing and still further objects and advantages of thisinvention will become apparent from a study of the followingspecification, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing,wherein:

Figure 1 is an exploded perspective view of a putter made in accordancewith the present invention;

Figure 2 is a side elevational view of the putter shown in Figure l inassembled position; and

Figure 3 is an end elevational view of the device shown in Figure 2.

Referring now to the drawing, and more particularly to Figure 1 thereof,a golf putter head made in accordance with the present invention isshown to include a main body portion of substantially rectangularconfiguration having an upwardly opening longitudinal groove 12extending throughout the entire length thereof. This groove issubstantially the same width as the lower end 14 of the club shaft whichis received therein and which is provided with a transversely extendingthreaded bore 15. A bolt 18 extends through a longitudinal slot '17 inone of the sides of the main body portion which communicates with thelongitudinal groove 12. This bolt is threadingly engaged within thethreaded bore 15 and the club shaft and may be tightened relativethereto so as to support the shaft of the club at any desired positionbetween the end extremity of the slot 17 and with the longitudinal axisof the shaft at any desired angle relative to the longitudinal axis ofthe main body portion 10. j

The side of the main body portion through which the slot 17 extends isprovided with a recess 20 to accommodate the head of the bolt 18 so thatthe bolt head is spaced inwardly from the outer surface 21 thereof. Thissurface 21 provides an abutment for weighted plates 23 that may besecured in any number to the main body portion 10 by means of aremovable threaded bolt 25 which extends through apertures 24 thereinand into a similarly threaded bore 26 in the outer surface 21 of themain body 2,932,515 Patented Apr. 12, 1960 portion 10. Each of theplates 23 and outer surface 21 is provided with longitudinally spacedapart dimples 27 which engage with each other to prevent accidentalrotation of the plates 23 about the axis of the bolt 25 which wouldcause interference with the smooth bottom surface 28 of the putter head.

In use, the point of attachment of the lower end of the shaft to theputter head may be adjusted by sliding the shaft to the desired pointintermediate the ends of the slot 17, whereupon the angle of the shaftrelative to the head may be also adjusted. By then tightening the bolt18, the shaft and head may be secured together in the desiredrelationship. The weight of the putter may then be adjusted by attachingany desired number of weighted plates 23 by means of the bolt 25 untilthe club has the proper feel for the particular player. The club is thenready for use so that a completely fiat surface 30 is provided forstriking the ball 29 in a conventional manner. It will be recognizedthat in order to adjust the putter for use by either a right handed or aleft handed player, the only difference will be in the direction inwhich the lower end of the shaft 14 is moved toward the respective endof the slot 17 and the direction of inclination of the shaft toward oneend or the other, as the case may be, the smooth fiat surface 30 ineither case providing the striking surface for engagement with the ball.

While this invention has been described with particular reference to theconstruction shown in the drawing, it is to be understood that such isnot to be construed as imparting limitations upon the invention, whichis best defined by the claim appended hereto.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent:

An adjustable putter comprising, in combination, a main body portionhaving a substantially flat ball striking surface on one side, a clubshaft, means for adjustably supporting said club shaft upon said mainbody portion, a plurality of individual Weighted members, means securingsaid weighted members on the opposite side of said main body portionfrom said striking surface, the top of said main body portion defining agroove, said club shaft having a boss at the point of attachment thereofto said main body portion, said boss being slidably received within saidgroove and having a transversely extending threaded bore, said oppositeside of said main body portion defining a slot extending perpendicularlyof said groove in alignment with said bore of said shaft for receivingan adjustable bolt for engagement with said bore in said shaft, saidweighted members comprising a plurality of individual plates ofsubstantially identical configuration as said main body portion, saidsecuring means comprising a bolt extending through aligned openings insaid plates and said opposite side of said main body portion forsecuring said plates thereon, and aligned portions of said opposite sideof said main body portion and the opposite sides of said plates definingmatching indents and detents for engagement with each other to securesaid 'plates in properly aligned position relative to said main bodyportion.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTSNetherlands Mar. 17, 1954

